Jetlag...again

I am working on the story of our return, but wanted to write a quick update to say jetlag is awful this way too.

We thought we were moving in the right direction. Monday night when the girls and I stayed in Calgary, they went to bed at 5 a.m., I woke them at 11. The night all of us were home, all three kids went to bed at 3 a.m., and we woke them at 11. On Christmas eve, the kids napped from 3-6, went to bed at midnight, and we woke them at 11. So last night should have been great, right?

Oh no. We had a great and happy Christmas, a wonderful dinner with friends (where Olivia fell asleep and had a two hour late night nap), and came home. Jack, Kate and I went to bed at 9 p.m. Olivia and John played with new toys. Such an almost normal bedtime! Jack and Kate woke up at midnight, and all of them were WIDE AWAKE until 5 a.m. We're talking light-sabre fights at 2 a.m., board games at 3 a.m., cartoons at 4 a.m. kind of awake. Jack just woke up at noon, and the girls are still sleeping. This is not good.

John and I are *so* tired. Somehow I feel like I've written that before!

Safe and sound

Just a quick message with the full story to come to let you know we all made it home tonight. John and Jack had narrow misses but made all of their connections. The girls and I faced canceled flights in Vancouver and had a crazy day that ended with the last standby seats on the last flight to Calgary, and staying in an expensive downtown hotel because there were no rooms in the (airport) inns (as we heard 1,500 passengers were stranded). The girls and I took the bus home today and John and Jack even beat us home on the original flight. None of our luggage is here, but I am sure it will be eventually (and we know it made it to Vancouver, so that's a start).

And... no spots! No coughs or sneezes or anything to indicate they infected planes full of people. Hooray!

All three kids were AMAZING. They are such good travelers. And I am in awe of the kindness of strangers (we had a LOT Of help along the way). We are all so happy to be home and see Kaia and our house, which feels so huge.

More to come. Thanks for all the good wishes that helped us through the longest night, and day, and night, and day...

Heading home

Katie, Olivia and I are heading home today, a day early -- we leave in 90 minutes for the airport!

They were exposed to chicken pox at school (and from our friend) and we hope that by leaving early, we'll be traveling in the incubation time, and not the contagious, spotty time. I have been googling like crazy (thank you CDC website!) and it seems we should be OK. Jack had the vaccination, but the girls are on a delayed vaccination schedule after Liv had a bad reaction to her four month shots. This is a disease I had hoped they would get naturally -- just not in the days before a trans-Pacific flight.

So -- it's been a flurry of phone calls, packing, planning, and a bit of panicking (at least on my part). I have not had the time I expected for thoughtful pondering of what this time in Japan has meant, and what we will remember. The goodbyes have been so rushed, unfortunately -- a tearful hug at the door to Hiromi (thankfully one of John's colleagues was here and could explain why we didn't want them to come in the house, or get close to the kids), and a quick goodbye this morning to Tomoko (whose younger son Keita already has the pox) when we pass off our sleds, extra food and toys that didn't fit in our luggage.

There weren't enough open seats for all five of us to travel, so John and Jack will be coming Tuesday as planned. I am slightly worried about customs/immigration in Vancouver, handling six pieces of luggage and tired girls... but I figured I'll just ask for help. We'll look so pathetic, someone will surely come to our rescue!

So keep us in your thoughts from 6 p.m. mountain time on Sunday night until 11:56 p.m. Monday night, when a good friend will pick us up in Lethbridge (thanks Phil!). We'll need all your good wishes and good vibes and love!

Thanks to everyone who has read this while we've been away -- and hopefully I'll be writing you from Vancouver during our long layover, with healthy girls and all our luggage!

So far so good

Everyone is looking healthy! Yay! We`re packing like crazy and excited to be heading home. More photos to come soon from our fun day yesterday...

Starting to pack

I am starting to pack to head home -- lots of sorting and organizing and remembering. We ended up buying two more suitcases so that we don't have any risk of going over the 50 pound Air Canada limit (after exchanging many letters this fall, Air Canada said that they were very sorry, but we had to pay the fine for the overweight bags on our flight here, even the three 53-pounders, and even though Japan Air said they could be up to 70 pounds.) So we will come home with 10 bags and a lot of great finds.

John and I had a LOT of fun yesterday shopping for the kids (and friends and family) while they were at school. He had gotten his last paycheck on Tuesday, as well as the second half of our travel reimbursement (which we had paid for in April... so it felt like "extra" money). We love how people get paid in Japan. Employees sign something, and are handed a thick envelope. OF CASH. John got two big envelopes this time and we quickly put most of the money in the safe (this whole cash-based society thing really explains the safe in every house and hotel room). So we got the kids their Christmas gifts and trip gifts for friends and family, paying cash everywhere and trying to find things that would remind us (and the recipients) of this wonderful time in Japan.

I should get back to that packing, I suppose... more soon!

Last day of school (sniff)

Well, that was hard.

I just picked the kids up at school for the last time (John was teaching so missed out on the cry-fest). They had a great day -- they gave stickers and notes (we did edit Olivia's) and "Canada cookies" we got at the import store (maple leaf cream) to their classmates, and presents to their wonderful teachers. And at the end of the day, after collecting all of their towels, bags, cups, and inside shoes, the teachers gave each one a book with a drawing from classmates and lots of pictures from the year. It's a wonderful gift.

We hugged each other a good few dozen times. Both of the main teachers were crying a ton, as was I (K&O's other teacher had to ride the bus). Jack, Kate and Liv were sad but also had that "itching to get out of school" feeling... ready for the weekend and not fully understanding that they won't see these friends and teachers again. I guess those extra grown-up tears were for them.

I gave the kids the peanut butter sandwiches for the walk home, and just now put in the last box of macaroni to cook. The kids agreed that today would be the best day to eat it.

John and I have spent a lot of time these last weeks talking about what wonderful teachers these are (and not just the three in the classroom -- as Jack said on the way home "all of the senseis (teachers) know me!") They seemed to really know our kids (even with language gaps) and truly seemed to care about them. We hope we continue to be so lucky as they go through school.

Speaking her mind

So... I had the kids dictate a generic note to give to each of their classmates tomorrow on the last day of school (with individual drawings). Jack and Kate's were sweet and predictable -- thanking them for being good friends, mentioning good times, etc.

Then it was Livie's turn. She dictated:

Dear class.
I liked four of you. Three boys and one girl. See you later!
Livie

Good friends

We've had visits from our two good friends the last two days. On Monday, Hiromi, Ayumu and Fuuka came over for coffee and playing. Fuuka is getting so big -- smiling and silly with less of that stunned, brand new to the world look. Ayumu's English has gotten SO good -- he is in an English immersion preschool, and Hiromi said his teachers said he has been using so much more English in class since meeting us (and apparently he talks about Jack A LOT in class, too).

Then today, Tomoko, Taiki and Keita came over for playing and dinner.

I had found marshmallows and corn flakes at the import store earlier today and we made Christmas wreath cookies (like rice krispie squares, but with corn flakes). This was the one kind of cookie I knew how to make without an oven (and oh, will I be SO glad to be back with a real oven... I have missed baking and roasting more than I would have guessed). The cookies were messy and delicious.

Then, Tomoko showed me how to make what I can only call a cabbage and pork pancake. We had received the main ingredients from John's colleague Yukie on Sunday (she and her daughter came for brunch and brought us loads of Japanese cooking things... which I did not know what to do with. Thankfully, Tomoko was willing to show me). They turned out to be SO good.

Hard to believe that a week from now we will be on our way home!

Oh, and as an aside -- Katie and Taiki seem to have a bit of a crush on each other. Can you tell in the picture of them that each thinks the other is fabulous?

Sledding down, winding down...

Sorry for the lapse in any updates or stories... a combination of not too many adventures (school, work, groceries, which thankfully are all quite mundane now!) and somehow changing the language of the blog controls to Japanese and not being able to log in have kept me away.

I somehow turned it back to English, thankfully (not sure if I could repeat it), and so thought I'd post some pictures of the kids sledding.

We've had a couple of good snow storms -- about 6-8 inches three times or so. There is a perfect little hill at Victoria Park and we have been out each of the last two mornings to sled. I am amazed at the well-heeled women here, wearing VERY high-heeled boots, who navigate the icy sidewalks with such grace. I am wearing thick soled Sorels and have almost landed on my backside many times already. I suppose if we stayed long enough -- and if I could find lovely high heeled boots in my size -- perhaps I would learn that skill eventually, too.

Just eight days and we head home. There is a lot we want to do and people to see, a party with university people on Friday night at our favorite French restaurant, gifts to buy, suitcases to pack, two more boxes of macaroni to eat... I am starting to stress a bit (like Katie,I sometimes have a hard time with change), but am still trying to enjoy the time we have left.

I am going to try out posting a video link -- am not sure if this will work. The first one shows Jack, the second one hows Jack almost plowing over his sisters, and I will try to find a short one of the girls (the first one I tried to load didn't work. Ah technology).

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo... (and to Costco, too, too, too)

What a great day.

One of John's colleagues, Mark Matsune, a Japanese Canadian who grew up in Edmonton, has family in southern Alberta, and has lived in Sapporo for more than 20 years, took us out on the town.

Of course, our version of out on the town involved a winter trip to the zoo... and (at John's request), a trip to Costco.

First... the zoo. We were a bit worried that the snow would keep us from seeing much, but it turned out to be great. There were probably a dozen visitors to the whole place (Jack pointed out that there were more monkeys than people at the zoo) and it was sunny and bright. We heard a surly hippo, saw very cold tigers, lions, cheetahs, and other cats enduring what looked like their 15 minutes of time outside, admired flamingos, laughed at monkeys, grimaced at gators and -- thrill of thrills -- got up close and personal with wolves.

Although it feels like universal knowledge, you might not know that Jack loves wolves. We've read a lot about them this last year, and he was quite disappointed to only see a lump of a wolf sleeping at the Calgary zoo on a sweltering day last summer. But at the Maruyama zoo, an alpha pair were quite active and seem especially drawn to Jack. We wondered at the wisdom of the exhibit placement (the deer were on one side of the building, the wolves on the other... did that make the deer nervous?) and Jack could have stayed there forever.

But we eventually pried him away, and after lunch and more exhibits (include an inside play area at the Monkey House that was SO much fun), we took sleepy girls and headed to Sapporo's Costco. I have to admit, this was not high on my list of "must-sees" in Sapporo. But John, who loves Costco, was eager and Mark said he loved any excuse he could have for a trip there, so off we went in his minivan.

The girls napped, and so Mark, Jack and John went in first. John came out glowing, saying it was WONDERFUL. He stayed with K&O while I went in... and it WAS wonderful. They had cheese -- good cheese -- that didn't cost a fortune (only a small investment). They had cute clothes and good prices -- mostly. Jack found his dream Star Wars set (only $200! ummmm.... sorry, buddy). They had books in English and that familiar KIRKLAND brand everywhere. And, hidden deep in the recesses of a freezer, they had...

TORTILLAS.

Soft, fluffy (well, once we defrosted them), delicious tortillas!

I told John later that I didn't even look at the price -- for all I knew the two-pack was $40! But no... the 20 tortillas cost a reasonable $8 Canadian (and compared to the time, effort, and frustration -- to say nothing of the taste -- of making my own tortillas, this is a fine price to pay).

We ended the visit as every good Costco visit should end -- with a hotdog and some pizza to share.

To top it all off, Mark thought our kids were incredibly well behaved! It has seemed to us since we got here that Japanese children are the ones who are so well behaved (and certainly much less noisy than our gaggle)... and we've had our share of less-than-stellar-moments in public (sleeping in the president's office, refusing food left and right, public nose picking) But it was nice to have someone say, unprompted, how great they were (because despite these less than stellar public moments, we think so too).

I should now help John get these happy kids to bed -- with warm quesadilla in their bellies (imagine -- cheese and tortillas at the same time!).

A few photos from the last few weeks

Here are a few random photos from the last few weeks that don't seem to fit in any real category -- including ones where Katie insisted on wearing every clip, band and bow we brought with us.

There is also a shot of John at one of our lunches out while the kids were at school (the most delicious sushi and tempura) and one showing him in front of one of Sapporo's most famous buildings -- the Old Hokkaido Government Building.

The photo of items that look like baby strollers are actually DOG strollers. I wanted to bring one home for my parents' sweet and aging dog, Willie.


And the final one shows me and Kate, mugging for the camera.

In this frenzy of photo and blog updates, I also wanted to write that I have uploaded even more from our Jozankei weekend to our Shutterfly account (because, you know, 50 photos of our kids just might not be enough...). Enjoy!

White illumination and a German Christmas market

While Christmas is not as much of a big deal in Japan as it is in North America, there are still signs of the season all around. And Hokkaido in general, which is so much snowier than the rest of Japan, and Sapporo in particular seem to "do" Christmas even more than most places in Japan

And so it was on Saturday afternoon that we found ourselves at a German Christmas market at the "White Illumination" at Odori Park in downtown Sapporo. We arrived in time to see some middle school/high school girls sing and dance (which Kate and Liv thought was FABULOUS) and to do a little shopping. The kids met a German Santa ("he looks different than our Santa, mama!"), and we indulged in the most delicious roasted almonds and some spiced hot wine.

While the outing was fun, it was also one of the first times I have felt homesick since coming, though. I think it was because it was close to being familiar, but was still so very foreign (instead of just being foreign!). I have since felt the same way in the department stores when Christmas music is playing -- a little lump in my throat or sigh in my heart reminding me that we are far from home.

Ah -- but we'll be home for Christmas... and for that I am grateful.

Desperate for tortillas

In all of my searches of grocery stores these last three months, I had not been able to find tortillas. And I missed tortillas. The kids missed tortillas. They make such easy meals. They are so delicious. So I broke down this week and finally tried to make them.

Now, when we lived in southern Colorado when I was young (ages 5ish to 9ish), I remember my mom making the most AMAZING homemade tortillas. She just whipped them out, it seemed to me, and they tasted so good and were so soft and so delicious.

With those memories in mind, I found a recipe on the web, and started to combine my ingredients... only to find I didn't have enough flour, or a rolling pin. So I added a little "baking mix" I had bought early on but had never used (what it contains, I'll never know... probably it's kind of like bisquick). And I found a vase that would work as a rolling pin. And I did it.

What I ended up with were the heaviest, hardest, most dense and not-delicious tortillas I have ever encountered! They were nothing like the ones my mom used to make, and not even anything like what you could get in a store in North America. We all ate them anyway, of course... but as we did, I laughed.

Tortillas should NOT be heavy.

Catching up -- some school pictures

It's been a busy week and we feel the clock is winding down. I have meant to post some of these pictures and updates for a while...

First up -- here are some random photos from the kid's classroom. Last week, parents were invited to the English class. I had high hopes for this -- but was a bit surprised at least in the girls' classroom. During the entire English lesson, Kate and Liv just sat there, and didn't do ANYTHING the English teacher asked (the songs, the stretches, answer the "what color is this" question...anything!) I felt like the other parents were all looking at (judging) me, wondering "she's speaking their language -- why aren't they doing anything?" But we think they have gotten so used to not knowing what's going on at school, they have taken a kind of "observer" role in their education here... even when they do!

Jack had no such troubles, and in fact, I am sure the English teacher is not appreciating his lessons to his classmates on how to sing Jingle Bells in a way that is much more humorous to the 5-6 year old set (Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg...)

The last photo shows the school principal and another administrator (in the Christmas spirit!)

Jozankei weekend

I just uploaded more than 50 photos from our weekend in the mountains at the Jozankei waterslide hotel (that's not its official name, but that's how we think of it!).

It was a great weekend. The kids seem to have inherited my family's love of waterslides -- they couldn't get enough. Making three trips a day to play in the pool was just about right for Jack, Katie and Liv. In between, we hiked around the town, ate delicious food, and played some arcade games (mostly wack-a-mole, which is WAY too much fun). But mostly it was all about the swimming.

Sadly, I couldn't get any photos in the water, but you can see photos of the wonderful hotel room, the dining room where we ate "Viking-style" meals (what they called a buffet), and the kids playing in the arcade. It feels like it was a weekend filled with laughter.